Today we’d like to introduce you to Kailyn Brown.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kailyn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I got my start in journalism in my hometown, Las Vegas, NV. From a young age, I’d enjoyed writing and telling stories, so my father encouraged me to start an entertainment blog where I highlighted new music releases and the local Vegas scene when I was 14 years old. It was called wethehype.com, hence where I got my name Kailyn Hype from. After doing that for a couple of years, I continued pursuing my passion for writing by joining my high school newspaper — later becoming the editor-in-chief — interning for music (predominantly hip-hop based) websites and reporting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s high school newspaper.
However, when I got to college at UNLV, I began to explore the various realms of journalism and joined the broadcast club. I hosted a radio show called Ill Vibe Theory — which was named the best college radio show in the city by Vegas Seven magazine in 2016 – for five years with two of my closet friends, Jocelyn Luna, and Christian Astorga. Being a radio host also inspired me to start DJing, a passion that I’d ran away from for several years due to fear of stepping out. While in college, I also worked as a general news reporter at the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, before moving to the Las Vegas Review-Journal to work as a community news reporter after graduation. (Full circle moment). However, after working for a year at the R-J, I decided to move to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago to work as an editorial assistant at the L.A. Times.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
By no means has my journey been smooth and I’m certain that anyone exploring creative endeavors could agree. For a long time — and I’m still actively working on it — I’ve identified my self worth with my work even from a very young age. So I felt that if I wasn’t constantly running or moving forward, I would feel worthless. Furthermore, I feel like one of my first hardships during my final semester of college. I’d been laid off from my first journalism job that I’d had for nearly three years. I was just one month out from graduating and was hoping for full-time benefits but was suddenly I was laid off for no specific reason that I can remember. I’d felt extremely defeated, especially being that I was surrounded by peers in my field that were landing their first jobs in the field. I had to start over.
So with the stress of becoming an “adult” in the real world, I had to also take the time to reevaluate my goals and where I saw myself in the world. It was my first time that I had to remain still, which terrified me. I’d even considered switching careers at one point, however, after flailing around aimlessly for a bit, I ended up landing a great job about a month later. Additionally, moving to a new city was a struggle for me at first, especially financially, but if I’ve learned anything, its that uncomfortably isn’t a negative thing. It has just forced me to move in directions that I may not have considered before.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
First and foremost, I am a storyteller. I enjoy telling stories very literally through journalism, in which I like writing mostly about music, fashion, and other arts and culture topics. My work can be found on my personal website https://www.kailynhype.com. However, in addition to writing, I also tell stories through music through my DJing. I specialize in hip-hop, RnB and alternative music. I post mixes on my website as well. I am very excited about my first merchandise piece that I recently released. I created a personalized car air freshener with the help of my friend who does all of my cover art, Zet Gold. I was tired of giving out business cards, which felt stale and impersonal to me, so I decided to create something that was a little more lively and creative. I sell them on my website. In addition to this, I also am a part of a DJ duo called Pilot Jones with one of my super talented friends, Nneoma Akubuilo. We have some exciting things in the works, so stay tuned.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t really believe in good or bad luck. I just think there’s life, LOL. All of the events that happen to us are subjective and something that may appear to be apparently negative now can prove itself to be a positive lesson that has saved you from more grief. However, I do believe in being intentional in everything that I do. I’ve also realized that my story has already been written well before I was placed on this Earth. For example, I’d applied to be an intern at the L.A. Times a few times while in college and was never selected. (It’s super competitive).
However, I kept in contact with the coordinator and one day I randomly emailed her after not speaking to her for a year and expressed my interest in moving to Los Angeles. I was on a timeline because I was desperate to leave Las Vegas before I got stuck and settled. I explained that I’d do any job at the publication and thankfully there was a position available. I don’t think it was luck, I just think it was divine timing because if it was up to me, it would’ve been way sooner. However, I’m so grateful for how things worked out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kailynhype.com/shop
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kailynhype/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kailyn.brown.94
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kailynhype?lang=en
Image Credit:
Christian Astorga, Julissa James
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